Sweat It Out: A Billionaire Love Story

by Starla Harris

  Lucy immediately felt a wave of trepidation wash over her. “Yes?”

  “What would you think about coming to work for us as a staff writer? We could offer you a position as a correspondent.”

  Lucy blinked. She was convinced her head was about to explode. Are you freaking serious?!??Her brain desperately tried to keep up and process the information she had just been given. When she finally got over the initial shock, she blurted out, “That’s my dream job. I mean yes, of course I would love that!”

  Carey smiled at her. “Then it’s settled. Write me up a report on the convention you attended in Ojai. There are a few other events I’d like you cover for us, but first I need to familiarize myself with your work style.”

  “Of course. I’ll get on that right away.” Lucy said immediately.

  “Good. Here’s my contact information.” Carey handed Lucy a business card over the desk. “E-mail it to me in the next couple of days.”

  Lucy nodded and took the card reverently, like it was the Holy Grail or something—and in a way, to her, it really was.

  She left Clean’s headquarters feeling light as a feather. She still couldn’t believe what had just gone down. The euphoria didn’t last long, however. Lucy had to buckle down and regain her focus. She had work to do.

  * * *

  This was absolute perfection. Lucy couldn’t have planned it any better. As soon as she got home, she dug out all of her notes from the Ojai convention to review. After she had a basic structure for the reportage done, she started writing like a madwoman, faster and more feverishly than she ever had before. It was a pity she didn’t have any pictures of him—some visuals would’ve been a nice added touch to include with her submission, even though she was well aware that the magazine had professional photographers for that part. She did her best to remedy to the lack of pictures to break up the text by inserting dynamic callouts and inspirational quotes from Elijah strategically placed throughout the article.

  It was four hours later when Lucy finally looked up from her work. Michael was out with Jeff for the day, which left the apartment empty (save for Toby, who was curled up against her leg on the couch, napping). She sighed contentedly and arched her back. She lifted her arms above her head and reached for the ceiling. Stretching out her legs was hopeless as they were pinned underneath the laptop and Toby’s warm and resting body. She decided to let the sleeping pup lie.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Michael about all that had happened. She sent him a cryptic text message earlier in the afternoon, when he checked in with her, asking about how the meeting at Clean went. She made him promise to come home for a dinner so she could share the whole story over takeout.

  Lucy stared thoughtfully at her laptop’s screen. She was mostly done with her work for the day, but still had a few things to wrap up before she could call it quits. She opened up her email and began to compose a message to Elijah to thank him for clearing things up with Carey Wayland.

  Without realizing it, she ended up sharing more than she intended as she started telling him all of the things she always wanted to say to him but never did. The words and emotion just came pouring out of her onto the screen.

  Dear Elijah,

  I had a meeting at Clean’s headquarters today. I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect and was prepared for the worst, considering what happened the last and only other time I was there. So, imagine my surprise when Ms. Wayland not only apologized to me, but offered to buy my profile of you and hire me as a correspondent staff writer at the magazine! She said the source called and confirmed the validity of the interview.

  I don’t have the words to thank you. I always knew you’d come through for me in the end (okay…more like I hoped ;-)), but I didn’t think you’d do it in such a spectacular fashion. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  I have to send her a report on the Ojai convention in the next couple of days. If that goes well, she’ll give me more assignments. I just can’t believe my dreams are coming true and that it’s all happening so fast. Don’t worry, though. I will not mention our very own private encounters during those two days at the resort. ;-)

  Speaking of…I’m not just writing to thank you. It started out that way, but now as I’m typing this, I realize there’s something else I want to say to you. I guess I’m also writing to tell you that I miss you. I think I may have been wrong. I regret having pushed you away.

  At the time, I thought I was doing what was right for both of us, but not anymore. I can’t stop thinking of you. I really do believe in the connection we had. It was apparent from the moment we first met and I know you felt it too.

  I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I’m not sure what I expect. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know what I want. I guess I thought maybe you could help me figure it out. Or maybe we could figure it out together.

  Anyway, I hope you’re doing well.

  Take care,

  Lucy

  She didn’t stop to think. She took a deep breath, and hit send.

  * * *

  Lucy turned in her report on the Ojai conference ahead of the deadline she had been given and Carey Wayland wasted no time in getting back to her. Clean’s editor in chief called her personally less than a day later and told her that the job was hers, if she wanted it. Needless to say, Lucy eagerly accepted the offer.

  The next couple of days were spent in a haze as Lucy tried to wrap her head around the fact that everything was really, truly coming together in her life, at least as far as her career was concerned.

  Michael and Jeff took her out to celebrate that weekend. Lucy specifically requested that they not go back to the same place where Michael and Jeff first met, which was also the same place where she ran into Elijah the last time. She didn’t want to be distracted by thoughts of him—at least any more than she already was.

  She had sent the e-mail to him exactly two days ago and he had yet to respond. Almost as soon as she pressed send, she frantically refreshed her email to see if he replied. After the first day passed, she started getting that panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach that he wouldn’t reply at all.

  “Stop sulking,” Michael scolded her while Jeff was at the bar getting their drinks. He elbowed her hard in the ribs. “We’re here to celebrate.”

  Lucy flashed Michael a weak smile. Even though Michael was talking to Lucy, his eyes were fixed on Jeff. She laughed. “Man, you’re really crazy for him, aren’t you?”

  “What? Who me?” Michael asked innocently. When he turned back to look at her, his face was flushed. He batted his eyes demurely. “Well, maybe I am. And who’s to blame?”

  Lucy smiled at him fondly. That was one of her favorite things about Michael, the fact that he always wore his heart on his sleeve.

  “I’m so happy for you,” she said. “Of all the people in the world, you deserve it.” She snuck a quick peek at her cell phone under the table.

  “Still waiting, huh?” he asked. Nothing escaped Michael.

  Lucy flinched and tucked her phone away. It was almost a habit by now. She hardly noticed how many times in an hour or day that she checked her email anymore. “I don’t think he’s ever going to reply.”

  Michael huffed. “Once again, it’s confirmed. He’s an asshole.”

  “I don’t think that’s what it is this time.” After a moment, Lucy said thoughtfully, “I mean, I get it. I think.”

  “Really?” Michael arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Enlighten me, darling. Because I really can’t wrap my head around it at all.”

  “The last time we were together, I rejected him. And now I just told him that I don’t know what I want. He probably doesn’t want to waste any more time with me. He has bigger more important things to worry about than me.”

  “Lucy dear, don’t sell yourself short.”

  “Well it’s either that, or he really doesn’t want a relationship and would rather keep ignoring the feelings between us. Maybe it’s a little of both.” She shrugge
d. “Whatever it is, they’re all good reasons.”

  “You really think so?” Michael countered. “I don’t believe you.”

  Lucy wasn’t so sure she believed herself either. She spent the rest of the night doing her best to keep Elijah out of her mind. While she didn’t quite succeed 100% of the time, she did manage to distract herself enough so that the heartache didn’t quite sting so much. The lightheartedness of course, vanished the minute she was back at home after Michael and Jeff had turned in.

  It was after 1:00 AM and just she and Toby were up and about. This wasn’t the first time in the past couple of weeks that she found herself lying in bed restless and wide awake.

  Toby moved around for a few moments before he finally settled in with his body curled up next to hers and his head on her stomach. Lucy smiled. Her little dog had the ability of making her feel warm inside pretty much instantly, no matter what was going on in her life.

  When she first moved to the city, she was hesitant to adopt a dog. She was afraid that her situation was too unstable. But when she saw Toby’s face, she fell instantly in love and realized that if she had to do this—if she had to start a new life and find a new balance, what better way to do it than with a friend by her side?

  She scratched Toby’s head behind the ears and slung an arm loosely around him. He breathed deeply and grunted contentedly before falling asleep. Lucy wasn’t so fortunate. She lay awake for quite some time. Lucy knew she should forget about Elijah, and that the sooner she did so, the better. But she couldn’t stop obsessing over him. As time wore on and it became more unlikely that she’d ever hear from him again, the aching and nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach got worse. She knew she would literally drive herself crazy if she kept waiting for an answer from him. Nothing good could come from obsessing over when and if he would respond. Why did she care so much? She landed her dream job. She had a career to focus on. This was definitely not the time for her to go off the deep end.

  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop the thoughts from spinning inside her head. Her heart began to beat very fast in her chest. Was she having a panic attack? Monday was supposed to be her first official day at Clean.

  She still couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She took a deep breath and rolled onto her side, Toby automatically adjusted himself to press as close to her as he could even in this new position. Her whole body was tense with nervous excitement. She tried to picture her first day there and then decided she better not. Expectations had a way of being crushed.

  * * *

  As it turned out, she could have had the highest expectations for this job and it still would have exceeded them all. At the end of her first week at Clean, she felt elated. Her motivation was through the roof. She’d heard horror stories about the rivalries and backstabbing pettiness one could find in the offices of such high-profile publications, but to her surprise everyone at Clean was super nice and helpful, and they were all each other’s number one fans.

  Even Carey Wayland was friendly and supportive, now that they were no longer strangers, but colleagues of sorts. Lucy discovered that she actually really liked Carey and admired the older woman for her pioneering work in the industry. This truly was Lucy’s dream job.

  In that first week, Lucy wrote more than she ever had in her entire life. The ideas just kept coming to her and the words kept flowing onto the page. Management had set her on blog duty to start so she could get her bearings around the office and learn the ropes of how things worked at Clean.

  Lucy loved the morning creative meetings where they discussed ideas for the next few blog posts. It was the perfect environment for nurturing creativity. She was learning to be quick and assertive, and not to let her inner critic shut her down. Even if she was afraid an idea might sound stupid, she forced herself to bring it up anyway. More often than not, one of her co-workers would use that idea as a stepping stone for a more structured one. If the idea really was stupid, they would all share a good laugh over it. There were no hard feelings, no meanness or cattiness, just teamwork.

  Lucy came home at the end of every day feeling pumped and at peace with herself and the whole universe. An added bonus was that they even let her bring Toby with her to the office three days a week!

  And yet, Lucy was a little ashamed to admit that she still felt like there was something missing from her life. Although half-heartedly and without expecting much, she would still compulsively check her e-mail, looking for his name. It never came and each time she was hit by the same sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She would get over it eventually, she knew that. But for some reason, she just wasn’t ready to let it go. They say time heals all wounds, but it was just taking much longer than she expected to get to that place where she could just walk away from what happened and forget.

  A few weeks had passed when Lucy was toweling herself dry after a post-run shower when the doorbell rang. She hastily slipped on a short robe and went to see who was there through the peephole in the door.

  In spite of her best efforts, her heart skipped the proverbial beat. Because standing right there, outside her door, holding a massive arrangement of multi-colored flowers and with an expression of vague impatience on his face, was none other than Elijah Redford.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  LUCY STARED AT ELIJAH with disbelief. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. He gave her a lopsided half-grin and held the flowers out to her.

  Lucy blinked. “What…um…what are you doing here?” She took the flowers into her arms and looked down at the improbable, yet spectacular, arrangement of hues and species. “Did you buy these flowers from Picasso or something?” She teased.

  Elijah laughed in evident relief. “Yeah, I know, they’re a little out there. But I liked them and thought they were perfect for you.”

  “For a billionaire, your taste is well… maybe a little out there sometimes. But thank you nonetheless,” she added sincerely. “I appreciate the gesture.”

  “May I come in?”

  Lucy cocked her head to the side and looked at him for a moment, wondering what the heck he was doing there and what was up with the crazy flowers? There was no way she could turn him away without at least hearing him out.

  “Sure,” she said, stepping aside to let him pass. “Come in.”

  As Elijah entered her humble apartment, Toby burst out of the bedroom and ran immediately over to him, jumping on his legs.

  “Ah, and here’s the infamous Toby!” Elijah exclaimed. He crouched down and proceeded to give Toby all the pets and hugs, the little dog demanded.

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “Such a guard dog, this one. Toby, leave him alone. Go back to your bed.” she ordered firmly and pointed to the bedroom.

  “Aww, don’t make him leave, not yet.” Elijah scratched a slightly more subdued Toby behind the ears.

  For some reason, seeing how much Elijah enjoyed Toby, was deeply satisfying to Lucy. She excused herself to look for something in the tiny kitchenette to put the improbable arrangement of flowers in. When she came back, Elijah was standing and Toby was lying on his favorite giant pillow on the floor. Elijah’s eyes ran the length of her body, and she immediately turned red, suddenly aware of her nakedness under the robe.

  “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t expecting guests. Excuse me for just a moment while I get dressed.”

  “No.” Elijah grabbed her arm before she could disappear into the bedroom. “I like you just like this.” He flashed her a wolfish grin.

  He leaned in slowly, giving her every opportunity in the world to resist and pull away if she wanted to, but she didn’t. Lucy had no desire or intention of moving away. Instead, she looked deep into his eyes. When he kissed her, she kissed him eagerly back, matching his desire and passion.

  Elijah lifted her up in his arms and Lucy wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom. He threw her unceremoniously onto the bed and she instinctively parted her legs for him in anticipation of what woul
d come next. He didn’t bother removing her robe or stripping out of his own clothes. Instead, he sat on the bed next to her and immediately put his hand on her hot wet pussy and stared deep into her eyes. Lucy gasped as his fingers quickly found their way inside her slit. She threw her head back and let out a soft moan.

  Before long he was nestled between her legs, lapping at her pussy and flicking her hardened clit with his tongue. He playfully inserted a finger deep into her folds while he continued to suck and nibble at her bud, which made Lucy writhe and moan even more. She had never been with a man before, who could touch her in such a way that she felt like she might explode with ecstasy with just a few strokes of the tongue and finger.

  But just when she thought she might tip over the edge, he pulled back. She whimpered loudly in protest as he leaned down and captured her mouth in yet another hungry kiss, which Lucy eagerly devoured.

  He left a trail of kisses down her neck and finally undid the knot in the belt that held her robe shut. He pushed it aside and gently cupped each breast. He gingerly rolled an erect nipple between his fingers and leaned in to suck at the other. Lucy arched her back and let out a deep moan. His lips and mouth traveled down her stomach and back to her core again. Once there, he nuzzled, licked, and nipped at her clit with his mouth while his fingers pumped in and out of her dripping wet pussy.

  Elijah knew exactly how to drive Lucy crazy and he loved to watch her squirm and writhe under his touch. But to her frustration and delight, he wouldn’t let her come at least not so quickly. As soon as she was close, he would pull back and dial it down just like he did in Ojai. He teased her relentlessly like this until she whimpered and begged him to let her climax.

  When the time was right, he sat back on his heels and instructed her to stay put. He took off his T-shirt and then his jeans and boxers, finally letting her see his whole naked glory. Lucy couldn’t help but moan with anticipation when she saw his huge cock, bulging with desire.